Good to Know…Week of May 2, 2011

OSAMA BIN LADENRemarks by the President on Osama Bin LadenGood evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.

TECHNOLOGYStorms Put Focus on Technology – and its Limitations
Almost nowhere on the East Coast was safe from the storms that ravaged
it this week, and the Washington, D.C., area was no exception. Although
spared from the massive cyclone that slammed through Tuscaloosa, Ala.,
and the tornadoes that struck elsewhere throughout the South, the D.C.
area did have a few tornadoes touch down, and more bad weather than Zeus
could generate with one of his thunderbolts.

Michigan State Police Defend Use of Data-extraction Tool for Cell Phones
The Michigan State Police is being challenged by the American Civil
Liberties Union over its use of cell phone data extraction technology.

The portable device, manufactured by Israel-based Cellebrite, can
extract personal data from 95 percent of cell phones on the market, as
well as from GPS devices, in less than two minutes, reported
NetworkWorld.

MEDICAIDStates Grapple with Big Changes to Government Health Care for the PoorMEDICAID
is a behemoth. It accounts for about one-sixth of America’s health-care
spending. It is the single largest source of federal revenue to states.
In 2009 it provided benefits to 63m people. Its costs will rise by 8%
each year for the next decade, according to the programme’s actuary. It
is little wonder, then, that Washington, DC, is buzzing with plans to
overhaul Medicaid. The real work, however, lies elsewhere.

NATURAL RESOURCESCan Harvesting Fog Bring Water To The Thirsty?Almost 900 million people in the world live without access to safe drinking water–the kind of water that is safe enough to flow straight from the tap into your mouth (with maybe a Brita filter in between). For these people, walking hours each day to faraway and potentially contaminated streams and wells is a way of life, and not one that is particularly conducive to getting much done.